MUSKEGON HEIGHTS, MI – A 31-year-old man who had custody of a 5-year-old boy is now serving jail time for burning the child with a lighter.

According to Muskegon County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Timothy Maat, Michael Edward Wheeler, 31, was sentenced on Monday, June 23, for child abuse, third degree.

He was sentenced in a Muskegon County courtroom to five and a half months in the Muskegon County Jail and ordered to serve 18 months of probation. Wheeler had pleaded guilty to that charge, Maat said.

At the time, the boy was living with Wheeler, his uncle, who had custody of him.

Maat said Wheeler was convicted of burning the boy on Dec. 13, 2013 inside a Muskegon Heights home. Wheeler had pleaded guilty to heating up a cigarette lighter and pressing it down on to the back of the right hand of the boy, Maat said.

The incident left a scabbed-over burn on the boy's hand, Maat said.

Child Protective Services was involved in the case. It isn't clear where the boy ended up following the incident with Wheeler, Maat said.

Wheeler is a habitual offender. He was convicted in 2000 for arson of personal property, according to court records.

Heather Lynn Peters covers police and fire, and writes a statewide food column, The Spunky Kitchen, for MLive/Muskegon Chronicle. Email her at hpeters@mlive.com and follow her on Twitter @HLPNEWS.